A vortex of corrupt politicians, prostitutes and a gay clergy-arch-devil in an iconic Moscow theater came to a halt as self-proclaimed Christian activists climbed the stage to denounce the “sodomy”. Some, however, took the stunt as part of the show.

The second act of the provocative play An Ideal Husband
staged at the Chekhov Moscow Art Theater by controversial Russian
director, Konstantin Bogomolov, ends with a scene of a scantily
clad woman rising above the stage with her arms spread, as
“Dorian Gray” passionately dances with an apparently homosexual
“priest-turned-Mephistopheles.” The priest then kneels and prays
at the soaring woman.

Then, seemingly in line with this cacophony of images, several
people calling themselves Orthodox Christian “activists” took to
the stage and shouted out their condemnation of the play. They
said the episode, as well as other provocative scenes, blatantly
mocks the crucifix and Jesus Christ himself.

A message posted on the official Facebook page of the Chekhov
Moscow Art Theater soon after the incident made it clear the
action was an “attempt to disrupt the play.”

“At the end of the second act, the infamous provocateur Enteo
came on stage with a support team. They shouted: “How can you
tolerate the mockery of our faith? Why do you hate Christ so
much, while he was crucified for us,” the message quoted the
“activists” as saying, identifying the group’s leader as Dmitriy
‘Enteo’ Tsorionov.

Scuffles ensued at the front of the stage as the theatre’s staff,
scene-shifters and theatre-goers attempted to pull of the
“provocateurs” off the stage, the theater said, adding
that the third act of the play started after ten minutes and went
smoothly.

Dmitriy Enteo earned his public fame on the back of several
stunts directed at the Pussy Riot punk band
and their supporters, and has said that he consciously uses the
same “art performance aesthetic”, but for opposite aims.

Enteo had a different account of the incident, blasting the play
as “hideous blasphemy,”“sodomy” and “infernal
raving” on his Vkontakte page. He said that their action was
peaceful, and they did not resist the “security guards,”
who started “beating” them. They simply kept appealing to
the audience and saying that mocking God is
“unacceptable.” Some of the people supported their “cause”
with applause, other sympathizers got up and left the play, Enteo
claimed.

But some of the theater-goers present at the time of the stunt
said in comments on the theater’s Facebook page that the people
who got on stage behaved like blatant hooligans, with a female
activist shouting hysterically and then throwing and damaging
stage microphones.

Ironically, many in the audience took the antics happening on
stage for part of the already unorthodox comedy, a witness told
RIA Novosti. The “activists” seemed to fit the bizarre mix of
characters from several works of Oscar Wilde, Anton Chekhov,
Goethe and the postmodern Russian dramatist, Vladimir Sorokin,
who all appeared in a contemporary setting.

Only several minutes after the initial applause given as they
thought to cunning improvisation, did the audience realize it was
indeed an attempt to disrupt the play. While some chose to leave,
most others were hooked by the farcical antics of the stunt, and
stayed until the end of the play.

This theater action is the latest in a series of attempts by
self-proclaimed Orthodox Christian activists to forcefully
protest against ideas they consider offensive to their beliefs.
Previous incidents included a “missionary flashmob” in
Moscow’s Darwin museum, “an action of the Orthodox
inquisition” at an office of a Russian opposition party, and
assaults on LGBT activists and Pussy Riot supporters.

Recently, one such activist was handed a one-year suspended
sentence for firing eye irritant at a gay rights campaigner
during a rally in May, but most others, including Enteo, have
never been held accountable.
Director Bogomolov later reacted to the incident during the play
on his Facebook page only by saying that it was not worth doing a
favor of “advertising for this poor fool.”

Known for his controversial plays, loosely based on the works of
renowned authors, but showing the problems of modern society in a
grotesque and provocative manner, Bogomolov earlier described
An Ideal Husband as a “trash comedy” depicting the
“trash” realities of present-day Russia.

Russian theatre lovers are divided over Bogomolov’s plays, and
particularly over his staging of several avant-garde pieces in
the iconic Chekhov Moscow Art Theater. Controversy over his
latest play based on Fyodor Dostoevsky’s novel, The Brothers
Karamazov, prompted Bogomolov to announce he is leaving the
theater after disagreeing to make unspecified changes to the
play.